I pretty much can't watch any of the shows on TruTV, they're all completely staged. There's a show called "All Worked Up" about process servers, repo people, etc, and I know for a fact it's staged because one of the episodes was shot in a restaurant by my house... The owner's wife is in a comedy troupe and she and the producers worked out the whole storyline from start to finish... I'm sure every other show on the network is the same way. I tried to get into that "Bait Car" one but after about 10 minutes decided it too was fake so I didn't see the point.

"The Locator" was a big disappointment for me... I'm a sucker for those kinds of stories but I couldn't even get through a couple of episodes because I was too distracted by the epic staging going on. Conversations with six different camera angles, people walking up from behind as if it's a "surprise" yet you can tell there are three different cameras on them... If you have just a slight knowledge of film production, you can tell when something is staged vs not. I had other examples but it's been a while since I've watched that one.

"Undercover Boss"... I don't care what anyone says, there's no way that one isn't staged. Maybe the first season when no one knew what it was but there's no way they still get away with it after all this time, and so I'm leaning towards scripted. I can still watch it sometimes but that's always in the back of my head.

I liked the concept of "Secret Millionaire" but again, way too much staging. I guess I can buy that it's not scripted in the sense of the concept (millionaires posing as documentary filmmakers looking to find people to donate to) but it's staged in terms of production. In the episode I watched, the father and daughter are shown prancing around Newark NJ and basically stumbling upon causes to look into. Then they show up at these places, which conveniently already have cameras and lighting set up for their arrival... it's just pointless to me.

I never understood the "reality" genre... A lot of times they have awesome concepts that I think could actually be cool, but instead of actually doing them (which would be a million times more interesting), they just fake everything. Why not just have a concept and shoot it like a documentary (or closer to that format)--the material is there. Instead the put together this heavily edited, overly-staged crap.

No mi gusta!!

__________________"The two most important days of your life - the day you are born, and the day you find out why." - Mark Twain

"Undercover Boss"... I don't care what anyone says, there's no way that one isn't staged. ... No mi gusta!!

This show ("Undercover Boss") has the absolute WORST disguises possible, and most especially the most unbelievable WIGS!! How any person in real life could not do a double-take when someone walks up to them wearing those awful disguises, and then to treat them seriously ... Get Real!

__________________To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

A recent episode of American Pickers showed Mike and Frank buying a circus sideshow banner. Then they flashed back to a previous sideshow banner they had bought last season. In the flashback it showed the "expert" in NYC who valued it for them.

I now recognize that expert as Billy Leroy - one of the buyers on the new show Baggage Wars. In the pickers flashback, he wore an eye patch. On Baggage Wars, his vision must have gotten better because the eye patch is gone.

Producers hire couple that recently purchased a house. Then show them looking at three houses one of them being the one they bought. Then couple decides what house they like best. Surprise it's the one they already bought.

A recent episode of American Pickers showed Mike and Frank buying a circus sideshow banner. Then they flashed back to a previous sideshow banner they had bought last season. In the flashback it showed the "expert" in NYC who valued it for them.

I now recognize that expert as Billy Leroy - one of the buyers on the new show Baggage Wars. In the pickers flashback, he wore an eye patch. On Baggage Wars, his vision must have gotten better because the eye patch is gone.

I'm not saying that either of these shows isn't faked in this instance, but he could have had a temporary medical condition that needed a patch for a time, no? Now, perhaps it could have have been a bandage-type patch instead of a pirate-type patch if it was temporary, but you never know.

"Undercover Boss"... I don't care what anyone says, there's no way that one isn't staged. Maybe the first season when no one knew what it was but there's no way they still get away with it after all this time, and so I'm leaning towards scripted. I can still watch it sometimes but that's always in the back of my head.

I happened to catch an episode filmed in the UK that featured the boss of a power company. One of his employees asked him point-blank if he was faking his identity. The boss finally admitted to it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Archangel00

Ax Men

I don't think all of it is faked, and the earlier episodes I believe are genuine, but the recent ones involving Rygaard are definitely faked. Craig's intense dislike of Dave is more than just a sideshow, it is a safety hazard (which the show does depict quite well).

At the beginning of last season, am I really supposed to believe that Gabe's "accidental" felling of a tree right on top of Dave's car was genuine? And that the cameras just happened to be set up to capture all the best possible angles?

I was flipping through and stopped on Ax Men for a few minutes. Flipped away again after a similar scene to what RonDawg described of a well captured accident with a Wilhelm Scream.

Come on. Not only did the producers strain credulity with the heavy coincidence of the camera pointing the right place at the right time, but to foley in the most recognizable stock sound effect in the history of foley artistry just puts the icing on the "staged" arguments.

Black Gold was fake but I watched it because I found it interesting. I mean would a bunch of Texans all be drinking the same brand of beer at a party. (I figured the sponsor supplied the beer but it was fairly fake towards the end.)

I think even to a degree things like Duck Dynasty are staged. Like the producers put people into a situation to see the dynamics happen. It's like throwing a feral cat in with a pit bull something is going to happen.

__________________
"It's not stealing if you need it. And you need it." - Inignot

Producers hire couple that recently purchased a house. Then show them looking at three houses one of them being the one they bought. Then couple decides what house they like best. Surprise it's the one they already bought.

Wow, this one's a surprise to me. We did always find it kind of bizarre that they only looked at 3 houses, but then just dismissed it figuring it was all in the editing, and they simply showed the "3 best"

What about Mystery Diner? It's pretty much the same show as Restaurant Stakeout. Apparently the buzz is that it is faked also. Bummer! I like these kinds of shows but I don't appreciate being duped.

I'm torn on this one.... My wife said the episode that she watched was ridiculous. The one I saw seemed legit. I meant to look up the names of the people and their restaurants to see if they were real.

In the UK the show was great for the first couple years. Not overly produced and Ramsay was not in "Ramsay" mode. He was actually knowledgeable and helpful. Making people sell their cars to buy new equipment or sitting with them and showing them how to run their finances.

Then it came to the US...totally over produced and he had to get into Ramsay mode and yell at people. Plus they had sponsors who gave these restaurant owners all new equipment. It was terrible in the US.

__________________
"It's not stealing if you need it. And you need it." - Inignot

Wow, this one's a surprise to me. We did always find it kind of bizarre that they only looked at 3 houses, but then just dismissed it figuring it was all in the editing, and they simply showed the "3 best"